Yvonne Chaka Chaka's daughter-in-law Nkateko Khoza has lost
merchandise worth over R150,000 from vandalism and looting during xenophobic
attacks in Johannesburg.
Her clothing store Lufi-D, located in the Maboneng
Precinct, was one of the many outlets in the region that were broken into and
looted on Sunday. Khoza's high-profile clientele includes her mother-in-law
Chaka Chaka, Natasha Thahane and Penny Lebyane.
Protesters smashed the window, trashed the store, broke
equipment and stole clothing.
"They managed to break a lot of stores there, but
others had strong windows so they couldn't go through. With my store, they
managed to go through and they took everything - the whole stock," Khoza
said.
"Within five minutes they were done. When I got there
a few guys were still around, walking up and down and doing as they please.
"We tried to reason with them that we are the owners
and we are your fellow South Africans. They said 'we don't care, we want to
show you what vandalism is'. These are angry people," Khoza said.
She has been forced to temporarily close her other store
located in the Fashion District in the CBD out of fear that she will lose more
stock.
Khoza is not planning to open a police case.
"Police were there on site today [Monday] and they
just went through every store checking which store was affected and writing
down what was taken," she said.
Chaka Chaka has expressed outrage over the store being
looted.
"I am dumbfounded, confused and frustrated and have
lost faith. People protesting broke into my daughter's shop and looted,"
she wrote on Instagram.
"All in the name of foreigners must leave SA. No man
is an island my fellow brothers and sisters, we all need each other. Too much
lawlessness.
"Mr President, do something. Mr [Bheki] Cele, do
something. What is this world coming to? Life has become so cheap; no respect
for life and for one another. God have mercy."
Maboneng Precinct steering committee member and Love Revo
restaurant owner Senzo Mncadi said the attacks have had a bad impact on their
businesses.
"The attacks have affected Maboneng poorly. I'm scared
to open my restaurant out of fear of being attacked. Many restaurants have
closed too. A lot of tourists cancelled this weekend and we lost a lot of
business." Sowetan
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